Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry says the city recently missed out on an 'intel-sized' business that was interested in setting up shop in the Duke City. He says the business chose a neighboring state because Albuquerque has a lack of incentives for new companies. Because of a confidentiality agreement, the Mayor can't say which business it was. But KOB Eyewitness News 4 sources have confirmed it was a green-tech company called First Solar. Albuquerque was a finalist, but they chose Mesa, Arizona instead. At the Marriott Pyramid Monday, the Mayor told a crowd of realtors and developers that the city missed out on a big business deal, what he calls 'project angel', because the company did not like the fact that New Mexico does not have good tax incentives, and taxes things like electricity and construction, while some other neighboring states don't. "we don't want to get ourselves in a situation where we're not competitive." The Mayor said. As part of his budget he is giving to the City Council next week, the Mayor is spending $20,000 to launch an in-depth study to look at what kind of incentives the city and state can offer to make sure the city does not lose out on future projects.
